Financial Sector Executives as Targets for Money Laundering Liability

Abstract

This article explores the merits of government initiatives that assign personal liability for money laundering violations committed by institutions in the financial sector. In it I argue that the current set of personal liability initiatives proposed in Congress and endorsed by federal agencies contain problematic features that conflict with corporate governance principles, raise troubling ethical issues, and could bring harmful effects to the financial services sector with reverberations beyond the industry. I suggest an alternate approach for bringing personal liability to the industry that avoids these challenges.

Keywords: money laundering, corporate governance, white collar crime, criminal law

JEL Classification: K14